One of the biggest manhunts in Southern California history appeared come to an end Tuesday night as authorities surrounded a smoldering cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains in which ex-police officer Christopher Dorner was believed to be hiding after a dramatic shootout with sheriff's deputies.

Dorner had publicly targeted police, promising "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against officers and their families and had been the subject of a massive manhunt that focused over the past five days on the area surrounding Big Bear Lake, a popular Southern California vacation spot.

Dorner barricaded himself in the cabin on Tuesday afternoon after gun battles with Fish and Wildlife officers and San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies in which one deputy was killed and another injured.

Authorities reported hearing a single gunshot from inside the cabin before it caught fire Tuesday evening.

Smith said earlier reports that a charred body had been discovered in the cabin were false and stressed that no body had yet been recovered, adding that should a body be recovered from the cabin, it could be days or weeks before a positive identification can be made.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman delivered a later press conference and repeated the message that Dorner's death had not been confirmed, although deputies believe the man who fired upon deputies Tuesday was inside the cabin when the fire ignited.

Deputies would remain at the cabin site overnight, she said.

"They have a very large crime scene to process and that's what they'll be doing," she said. "At the same time, they are mourning one of their brothers, who was killed today."

In addition to the deputy killed Tuesday, Dorner is suspected of murdering a Riverside police officer last week and an Orange County couple Feb. 3.

His truck was found Thursday near Big Bear, and authorities over the weekend combed the mountains for him.

On Tuesday, a high-ranking San Bernardino County Sheriff's official said Dorner had held four people hostage, possibly for days, at a home in the 1200 block of Club View Drive before fleeing the residence Tuesday in a stolen maroon Nissan Rogue, according to a high-ranking San Bernardino County sheriff's official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

One of the bound hostages managed to break free after Dorner fled the residence and called 911. Dorner reportedly crashed the Nissan and carjacked a white Dodge 4-wheel-drive pickup, the sheriff's source said.

Big Bear Lake resident Tom Spiegel told CBS News the carjacking victim was his friend, who told him a man wearing camouflage clothing jumped out of the forest with a gun pointed at him and ordered him out of the truck. The driver of the truck told Spiegel he "immediately knew who it was" and put his hands in the air as he got out of the truck.

The man in camouflage got into the truck and sped away, Spiegel told CBS News.

The white pickup was tracked to the area of Glass and Seven Oaks roads in Angelus Oaks, where the gunman, believed to be Dorner, exchanged gunfire with the Fish and Wildlife wardens.

The CDFW vehicle was shot numerous times, and the suspect escaped on foot. There was an immediate call for backup, which included law enforcement officers from CDFW and other agencies.

Dorner fled, then barricaded himself in a cabin where he engaged pursuing deputies in another firefight.

Sounds of the gun battle were broadcast live by Southern California television stations. Law enforcement officials later asked media outlets to withdraw their helicopters from the immediate area due to safety concerns.

Law enforcement officials from departments around California converged on Angelus Oaks and laid siege to the cabin, which by Tuesday evening was fully engulfed in flames with Dorner believed to be inside.

A law enforcement official said a single shot was heard from inside the cabin before the fire broke out.

"We have to let it burn, simply because there is an armed and dangerous subject believed to be inside," San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said in a televised interview earlier in the evening.

Once Tuesday's began, local schools went on lockdown, including Big Bear High School, Chautauqua High School, Fallsville Elementery, Northshore Elementary.

Big Bear resident Theresa Vazquez said the security situation at the schools has also been a major concern. Vazquez's six-year-old grandson attends kindergarten at Baldwin Lane Elementary School, which was locked down today as the search for Dorner intensified into a firefight at a cabin in Angelus Oaks.

"My grandson's school was locked down on Thursday, no school on Friday, and locked down today, and of course all the parents are on Facebook can we get our kids, can we get in?" Vazquez said. "Monday there were armed police at the schools and one of the banks had an armed guard up here."

Some students who attend Redlands East Valley High School and commute to the Angelus Oaks area were forced to stay on campus due to the battle.

REV principal John Maloney said between 30 and 35 students who commute from the mountain area near Angelus Oaks will remain on campus until picked up by family.

Maloney said he made an official statement over the loud speaker at around 1:30 p.m., informing the student body about the incident occurring in Big Bear.

"With high school kids, most have cell phones Facebook and usually know what is going on," Maloney said. "But we made an announcement anyway to make sure they are kept up to date."

Elsewhere, however, some tempers rose when mountain residents were prevented from returning home due to roadblocks.

Debi Welch, a 35-year resident of Forest Falls, said at a roadblock near the Mill Creek Ranger Station outside of a Yucaipa that a Highway Patrol lieutenant had told her over the telephone that she could drive to the communities Falls Vale Elementary School to pick up her two children, Nicholas, 7, and Sasha, 11.

But San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies below the roadblock were under orders not to let anyone up.

Welch broke into tears, out of frustration and concern about her children.

Like many residents, Welch had left Forest Falls prior to the roadblock to run errands in Yucaipa or another nearby city.

Joe Wheeler, 65, had major shoulder surgery last Friday and was overdo for pain pill, which he left at home. He and his wife he been shopping in Redlands and afterward found their path home blocked.

"The pain is starting to pick up," he said, after a couple of hours beneath the roadblock.

Dorner, fired from the LAPD in 2009, is believed to be behind a series of deadly attacks stemming from his desire for revenge against LAPD. In a rambling manifesto posted on his Facebook page, Dorner said he planned to continue attacking LAPD officers and their families until his name was cleared.

Police suspect Dorner of the Feb. 3 shooting deaths of Monica Quan and her fiance Keith Lawrence in Irvine.

Quan is the the daughter of Randal Quan, a former LAPD captain who in his second career as an attorney, represented Dorner in the LAPD hearing that led to his dismissal from the department.

Dorner claimed in his manifesto that he was wrongfully fired for reporting his training officer's use of force.

Dorner is also charged with murdering Riverside police officer and Marine Corps veteran Michael Crain early Thursday morning. Dorner is also alleged to have wounded Crain's partner and to have fired upon two Los Angeles Police officers, wounding one, in a separate incident on Thursday.

For one coach who knew Quan, the news of Dorner's possible death was a relief.

"Monica's family and her friends and all her loved ones can now officially say their final goodbyes and celebrate her life the way it should be celebrated," said Jody Wynn, head coach of the CSULB women's basketball team.

While Wynn didn't coach Quan during her time on the team from 2002 to 2005 before she transferred to Concordia University in Irvine, she said she knew Quan as a fellow coach.

Wynn said the CSULB team had been closely following the Dorner manhunt, even though the players had never taken the court with Quan.

"She's a member of the women's basketball sorority. It seems like we all know everyone," Wynn said. "It's a small, close-knit community."

Quan interviewed for an assistant coach position four years ago at CSULB and Wynn has since been following Quan's career, the coach said.

"She was one that was classy, hard working and passionate, and you could just see it," Wynn said. "She was so optimistic with everything and really driven.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from the Los Angeles to the Inland Empire were involved in the manhunt for Dorner, which focused on Bear Valley since his truck was found near Bear Mountain ski resort Thursday morning.

The number of law enforcement officers searching the mountains dwindled over the weekend from a peak of 125 but more than 200 officers participated in Tuesday's siege.